Marketplace AM for June 22, 2007

New York City health officials say smoking has fallen 20 percent over the past few years, mostly due to ads featuring cancer victims and a tough ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. Amy Scott reports.

Players and fans from around the globe are in Las Vegas for the annual World Series of Poker -- or they're watching it on TV. It's become wildly popular, says Diana Nyad, because it's a brand of reality TV we can all relate to.

Hundreds of U.S. schools are using changes made to the federal Title IX law last fall to extend boys- and girls-only classes beyond gym and sex ed. But critics say that could lead to the very stereotyping and discrimination the law's meant to prevent. Sally Herships reports.

Homeowners in some 21 states are holding their breath, hoping for reform that'll bring property tax relief. Four states have already slashed property taxes. But not everyone shares the joy, particularly schools and other local agencies that rely on tax dollars. Dan Grech reports.

T.G.I. Friday's is bucking casual dining's super-size-me trend to offer a new "Right Portion, Right Price" menu. Customers get about 2/3 the food for about 2/3 the price. And for Friday's it's meant more customers, higher profits. Jeremy Hobson reports.

You might think all those thank you e-mails and free e-cards and party Evites you receive would pile up and start weighing down the greeting card industry's bottom line, but profits are soaring. Jill Barshay looks at how they're keeping paper cards alive.

The storefronts are a hallmark of lower-income neighborhoods. "Payday loan" operations offer short-term loans to people who need emergency cash, but often at outrageously high interest rates. Now the government's looking for better options. Alisa Roth reports.

The creators of the hyper-violent Grand Theft Auto video game series may have gone too far this time. A sequel to a best-selling gorefest has been banned in the U.K. and won't be sold in the U.S. Stephen Beard reports.

E.U. leaders are working to finalize a basic set of agreed upon principles, but if it stands, a decision to leave free market competition out of the treaty could have far-reaching implications inside Europe and out. Stephen Beard explains.